As I explore more Belgian breweries I notice some use the term Brasserie and some use Brouwerij. Why is one used versus the other? Is it a geographical/linguistic reason? Just the brewery's preference?
Brasserie is a French term for a relaxed restaurant whereas Brouwerij is Belgian for brewery. With that in mind it could one of two differences... 1. (This is the one I believe it is) Brasserie and Brouwerij could be the same thing in Belgium, just different dialects (Flemish vs Belgian), where Brasserie in Flemish is the closest translation over to Belgium 2. The difference could be the difference between a brewpub and a brewery. Or hell, I have no idea what I'm talking about and I'm completely wrong on both
Belgium is a country divided. Half the country descends from what was once the kingdom of Flanders and speaks Flemish, which is closely related to Dutch. The other half speaks what for a long time was Europe's most cosmopolitan and politically important language, French. Most towns speak and post signs in only one language or the other, and depending on where your family is from, you'll grow up speaking either Flemish or French as your primary language (although most people speak the other because they learn it in school and the close proximity of people speaking it). Brussels, Belgium's capitol, is an interesting city, in that it is divided between the two languages, but not in a clean geographical way. Brasserie is the most commonly used word for a small brewery in the French speaking areas, and Brouwerij is from the Flemish speaking areas.
There's no such thing as Belgian (as a language). In Belgium, depending on who or where you are, you speak some dialect related to French or Dutch or German or some mix.
